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So my wife and I are moving back to Santa Fe and we have been looking online for houses to buy for under 200k.
Almost all of them are south of airport road around the country club.
My friend who is working in santa fe keeps telling me that the area is super duper duper bad and i shouldnt live there, but there really isnt many options for under 200k. That is the spot! There are new houses there, some few year old houses which look great. Is it really THAT bad of an area? Our little baby is due in March too
I know nothing of the area but I can hopefully raise a good point. Remember that where you buy affects the school your child will attend. You can always send the child to a private school but make sure to figure in that cost. Maybe it makes more sense to buy a condo or townhouse in a good school district so the child (children) may attend public schools.
I've lived near Airport Road for five years now for the same reason--only place I could afford a house. My area is considered "Bad" but I feel safer than if I lived near the plaza with all the street people wandering around up there. If I could have afforded Eldorado that's where I would have bought although I like being closer to town--could never get friends to visit me in Eldorado--"too far." We're spoiled here--everything is so handy with very little driving. I also like that there are families with children in my neighborhood that play outside.
Seems like every town has to have an area that's the wrong side of the tracks in order to make other areas more desirable and expensive. Not that there aren't spots in Santa Fe that are undesirable but the subdivision south of airport seems nice--I go there sometimes and walk on their paved walking trails. Calling it super dupper bad makes it sound like a ghetto--has that person even been there? The Southside library is really nice. I can't help you with schools--definitely something to consider as the schools here overall are not good.
You're the only one who can say whether it's too bad of an area for you. What I can say is that for me... no, I could not live south of Airport Road. I don't think it's a dangerous area, but it's kind of low rent. And the elementary schools down there aren't very good. In fact, they're pretty much the worst in Santa Fe. One of the biggest reasons I couldn't live down there, though, is the traffic. You have to drive up Cerrillos to get anywhere and that's going to add 20 minutes onto any commute.
If you can only afford $200,000 for a house, how about a townhouse or a condo? It's worth hooking up with a good realtor to have him/her search for houses for you because you never know what little hidden gem will pop up that isn't viewable on a public Internet search.
Isn't it great to be able to paint a whole area "low rent." Do you have any friends who actually own homes on the southside? A friend just bought a very cute little house off of Paseo del Sol. I know other people who live there that really love their homes. It's a place where people can afford to buy a house, not a pricey apartment called a condo. There are several ways to get into town other than Cerrillos.
Morphx2 - You could look into the Santa Fe Art & Science school on the southside. It sounds fabulous - talked today to a 6th grader excited about learning. It took her six years to get in though and I have no idea how expensive it is. Since her Dad works with me I assume she might be on a scholarship.
Compared to most major American, Santa Fe doesn't have a 'commute'.
Find a real estate agent you can trust.
One of my neighbors in Eldorado recently passed away, and his family did a quick sale on his well kept home for $180,000.
It's STILL a buyers market, so there ARE real estate deals out there.
It does have an evaporative cooler, and i think on the roof, is that annoying to change the pads on and stuff since its on the roof?
It is normally more efficient to put the swamp cooler on the roof. Annoying? Depends, but it is the right of every New Mexican to be in danger of falling off the roof at least twice a year...
Before I was a senior citizen, I use to do it for some senior citizens...
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